Kelly's medical notes
by Ninjalinda
Summary: An engine veterinarian/medic's notes on engine's anatomy and biology. Rated T upcoming lessons on anatomy and breeding...
1. 1 Introduction

Kelly's medical notes #1

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About time I write down some of my discoveries and research on the engines of Sodor. Maybe they'll become useful some day, maybe they could be of use for future engine doctors and surgeons.

I mostly work on the diesels, since they get sick and wounded more often than the steam engines. I still haven't found the reason for this, but maybe there will be a breakthrough some day.

These notes will be based on my experiences while working on the engines.

I might even include some simple sketches if an illustration is necessary to show anatomy or something.

~ Kelly Stormberg, engine veterinarian and medic


	2. 2 Flesh and Blood

Kelly's medical notes #2

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Date: August 15th 2017

Engine of study: Den and Arry

Case: Lacerations and burnwounds

Topic: Flesh and blood

Personal notes:

I had to date this back, as I wrote it long ago, with really crappy handwriting in my diary.

The engine's anatomy and the unique mix of machinery and organic parts never stops amazing me. One needs both mechanical and medical experience to work one them. Sadly, the latter has been neglected here on Sodor.

Arry was brought to the Dieselworks after getting some severe burns after an accident at the Ironworks. It's not the first time I treat the engines from the smelters, burns often happen there.

Burnt engine flesh smells really unpleasant, not that different from human flesh, but with a hint of burnt rubber.

I had to cut away the dead tissue and use silk blocks. Engines heal at the same rate as humans, and needs about the same care, like frequent rinsing to avoid inflammation.

Den had a laceration in the soft tissue of his undercarriage and needed a few stitches. He will heal just fine as long as the wound is kept clean.

Discoveries:

Engines flesh is more rubbery and thick than human flesh, but is just as sensitive. I had to give the engines a shot of lidocaine to ease their pain during the treatment.

Diesels seem to bleed both blood and oil, depending on which part of their system is damaged. The organic tissue bleed blood obviously, but if any of the tubes to their mechanical parts are torn, they will leak oil like any other machine. Mixing the two liquids doesn't seem to affect the body functions in any way, no infections is being caused by this.

The way the organic and the mechanic parts are working together is really complex and fascinating.

~Kelly Stormberg


	3. 3 Respiratory system

Kelly's medical notes #3

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Date: not dated, long-therm research

Topic: Respiratory system

Engines of study: Derek, BoCo, Arry, Pip, Emma, Diesel 10, Henry, Gordon, Percy, Mike of Arlesdale, dissection of one Jane Doe steam and Joe Doe diesel from the scrapyard.

Notes:

The frequent breakdowns of Derek's cooling system intrigued me. I have always been curious to how this part of the engines work, given that they also have a organic respiratory system. This is however more prominent in diesels than in steam engines.

To find out more about how it worked, I had to go to the scrapyard to find dead engines to examine. As unpleasant as it was, it provided me with further knowledge on how the breathing of an engine works together with its cooling system.

In steamers, the breath has less of an function than in the diesels. When a steam engine draws its breath, it goes straight to the firebox, making the fire burn stronger. But if an steam engine holds its breath, it won't do much. Breathing is purely a extra bonus for steam engines. Breathing heavy while doing heavy work will make their fire burn brighter and thus create more steam.

In diesels, however, the respiratory system is linked to the cooling system in a rather intricate manner. They both serve the purpose of cooling down the engine. As the engine overheat, the breathing will add extra cool air together with the cooling system to prevent this. If an diesel holds its breath, the risk of overheating increases, thus putting its health at risk.

This is where I came to a break through in Derek's case. Upon further examination it turns out that he suffers from a severe cause of asthma which makes him more prone to overheating as he can't add that little extra air to his system like most other diesels can.

The same thing seemed to be the cause of Henry too, but that could be solved by giving him another type of coal. Upon analysis of this coal, comparing it to regular coal, it turns out that this type contains some of the same chemical components as found in human asthma meds.

Since we obviously can't give Derek this coal to ease his respiratory problems, we've found that we can try giving him corticosteroids through a special built inhalator twice a day. This has so far proven to be successful. Derek has not overheated since we started this treatment, but we're monitoring him closely.

This research might help other engines with similar problems in the future.

Discoveries:

I guess you can say that the breathing in both engine types has opposite purposes. In steam ther purpose is to create more heat, while in diesels the purpose is to cool down. I still haven't found out what purpose it has in electrics and maglevs, but we're working on that.

We also found treatment for both steam and diesel, though the treatment is different, it serves the same purpose: to open up the airways and make it easier to breathe.

~Kelly Stormberg


	4. 4 Eyes and Eyesight

Kelly's medical notes #4

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Topic: Eyes and eyesight

Date: none, long-therm observation and study

Engine of study: All

Notes:

This isn't a big or difficult topic at all. The engines' eyes work pretty much the same way as human eyes and can be treated the same way.

There is no major difference between steam, electric, maglev and diesel engines when it comes to eyes, and eyesight. Maybe a tad when it comes to nightvision, but it is barely notable.

One thing to be noted is that engines' sense of vision is a tad poorer than humans'. Especially at a long distance. They often squint to make up for this. Their ability to see colors are however the same as ours, though some are colorblind, just like humans.

It seems as steam engines are more prone to be colorblind than diesels. Diesels, electrics and maglevs also seems to have a better nightvision than steamers, steamers relying more on their headlamps and other sources of light than the other engine types.

Diesels however are more prone to eye infections, but these are easily treated and usually goes away within a week of treatment.

Discoveries:

No huge difference between the engine types. Diesels have a higher risk of getting eye infections, for reasons yet unknown. Steamers have a tad poorer night vision than the other engine types. They also have a tendency of being colorblind.

It also seems that all electric engines have green irises. We still don't know the reason for this.

All known eye infections and diseases can be treated the same way as humans, just in a bigger scale.

~Kelly Stormberg

PS: Some diesels (aka Arry) become utterly aggressive and bite, if you touch their eyeballs… ;-) Not recommended.


End file.
